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ICYMI: Ron Johnson’s Beltway Blunder: The “Ducking Putin” Edition

Posted September 9, 2016

Senator Johnson continues to duck and dodge questions about Donald Trump, and now he won’t even condemn Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin. For staying silent on Trump’s most recent comments Johnson earns not only a blunder, but also another duck.

"If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him," Trump said of Putin.

Trump's remarks depart sharply from the skepticism -- and in many cases, hostility -- shown toward Putin by most U.S. political leaders in both parties. Putin is widely regarded in the West as an autocrat, having been criticized for annexing Crimea from Ukraine, for allegations of widespread fraud in Russian elections and for his human-rights record in Russia, including his alleged sanctioning of the murder of political opponents.

As Senate Homeland Security chairman, Johnson, R-Oshkosh, is one of Capitol Hill's top-ranking lawmakers on national security issues.

Johnson's campaign declined to respond Thursday to Trump's comments. He is seeking re-election in November and is challenged by Democrat Russ Feingold.

Johnson is on record supporting Trump's candidacy. He has parted ways with Trump on some of the GOP nomineee's most widely criticized statements, such as his call to ban Muslims from traveling into the U.S. and his claim that a U.S.-born judge of Mexican ancestry could not fairly preside over lawsuits against Trump University.